Tokyo up, rest of Asia weaker on U.S. decline


Arabic youths living in Japan protest the Middle East violence on a Tokyo street.

HONG KONG, China -- Tokyo stocks ended the morning higher Thursday, even as the rest of Asia's markets slumped on the back of Wall Street's decline.

Tokyo's major indices defied the downward trend in Asia as institutional investors went on a new fiscal year shopping spree, analysts said.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 average gained 1.06 percent, or 120.68 points, to 11,521.39, while the broader, capital-weighted Topix index rose 1.46 percent to 1100.17.

Sentiment was hurt elsewhere in Asia after U.S. stocks fell overnight. That came on growing fears the escalating tensions in the Middle East could crimp oil supplies and impede the U.S. economic recovery.

South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong were all lower. Profit taking in Seoul saw the Kospi ease just a little from the two-year high it reached Wednesday. Taiwan was down about 90 points or 1.45 percent.

In the U.S. on Wednesday, the tech-laced Nasdaq composite index lost 1.11 percent to 1784.35, while the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.12 percent to 10,198.29.

NTT DoCoMo up

In Tokyo, Japan's dominant mobile phone carrier, NTT DoCoMo, led a broad-based advance, adding 1.36 percent to 372,000 yen.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Holdings rose 1.04 percent to 291,000 yen, while UFJ Holdings rallied 2.09 percent to 293,000 yen.

Japan's leading automaker, Toyota Motor added 1.62 percent to 3,770 yen. Honda Motor was up 0.36 percent to 5,500 yen.

Consumer electronics giant Sony Corp was up 0.43 percent at 7,030 yen.

In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi slipped 0.08 percent at 917.88, while the over-the-counter Kosdaq added 0.58 percent at 88.38.

Memory chip leader Samsung Electronics lost 2.48 percent to 394,000 won, and steel giant POSCO shed 2.37 percent to 144,000 won.

State-run Korea Electric Power Corp fell 2.4 percent to 24,440 won despite news its unionized workers ended a protracted strike over privatization.

Resources stocks weaken

Australian stocks hit their lowest point for the year to date.

Resource heavyweights were lower as base metals, gold, and oil prices began to retreat while telecoms and media stocks sank.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 9.5 points, or 0.28 percent, to 3,368.3. At one stage it slumped to 3,365.7, its lowest point since December.

Index heavyweight and media giant News Corp shed 0.80 percent to A$12.35.

In Taiwan, stocks retreated in mid-morning trade as heavily weighted tech shares took a blow from Nasdaq's overnight decline.

The benchmark Taiex tumbled 2 percent, or 126 points, to 6,168 before recovering slightly to be 6212.60.

Tech heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing fell 1.57 percent to T$93.50, while rival United Microelectronics shed 1.85 percent to T$53.

Blue chips down

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 0.6 percent, or 10.77 points, at 1,772.22 in late morning trade.

Banking group DBS fell 1.37 percent to S$14.40 and media conglomerate Singapore Press Holdings eased 1.21 percent to S$24.40.

SingTel, which reached a record low of S$1.56 Wednesday on news it would increase its stake in Indonesian mobile operator Telkomsel, recovered to be up 1.28 percent to S$1.58.

Stocks were also lower in Hong Kong where investors took Wall Street's decline as a sign that the U.S. economic recovery might not be as strong as expected.

The Hang Seng Index breached the 10,800 level in early trade before recovering to be down just 5.11 points to 10,828.85.

China's biggest computer maker, Legend Holdings slid 0.76 percent at HK$3.25. Banking leader HSBC was off 0.28 percent to HK$88.75. Sinopec was steady at HK$1.32.

China Mobile was down 0.85 percent to HK$23.45.